Despite uncertainty, area delegate selection moves ahead

Monday

Mar 31, 2008 at 12:27 AM

Democrats don't know whether they will be able to vote at the national convention.

By JACK STRIPLINGSun staff writer

Even in funky Florida, the show must go on.

Penalized for moving elections up early in violation of party rules, leaders of both state parties are unsure whether their full slate of delegates will be seated at this year's Republican and Democratic national conventions. But even with all that uncertainty in the air, the time-honored process of selecting delegates to party conventions is moving ahead.

On the Republican side, where party bosses have said they'll strip Florida of half its delegates, leaders in Congressional District 6 went ahead Thursday night and elected three delegates.

Among the chosen Republican delegates was Stafford Jones, chairman of the Alachua County Republican Party. Jones said he's confident all the Republican delegates from Florida will be seated, and some will even have a chance to shape the party's platform by participating in committee work at the Minneapolis convention in September.

“It's not just about going and wearing funny hats and elephants,” he said. “It's about taking part in the process. Shoot, the platform for the national party is developed at the convention. There's a chance that any one of us could end up on the platform committee. (But) in a large sense, it is a big pep rally for Republicans across the nation.”

In recent years, conventions have been largely symbolic events that serve as the formal introduction of each party's nominee for president. While that will most surely be the case on the Republican side, where Sen. John McCain, D-Arizona, has the delegates to secure the nomination, a protracted battle among the two leading Democrats threatens to go all the way to the late-August convention in Denver.

By any measure, the Democratic Convention has the makings of history. While pundits say it's unlikely, the Democrats could have the first “brokered” convention since 1952, meaning no candidate secures the nomination when the first ballot is taken at the convention and further voting is required. Barring the entrance of a dark horse candidate late in the convention process — Al Gore, anyone? — the Democrats are poised to eventually select either the first African-American or first woman as their presidential nominee.

The historic nature of the process is not lost on Staci Fox, who is a pledged delegate for Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY.

“I feel like this is a very historical year for our country, and as a woman and a Democrat I wanted to be part of this process,” she said.

To become a Democratic delegate for Congressional District 6, which includes parts of Alachua County, Fox did a bit of her own campaigning. She headed to Ocala, where registered Democrats elected three delegates in the district, and turned on a bit of political charm. A blonde-haired health care worker, Fox distributed blonde brownies that read “Send a Blonde to Denver.”

But whether Fox will have her place in history remains a mystery. Democratic Party bosses are thus far sticking to the position that Florida's delegates won't be seated. Fox says she thinks there will be a compromise made, allowing her to go to the convention but denying her the right to vote as a delegate.

“I've sort of made peace with the fact that I'm not going to get to vote,” said Fox, denoting her disappointment in an “aw shucks” tone.

Susan Bottcher, who is a pledged delegate for Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., says she thinks it will be devastating for the Democratic Party if delegates aren't seated in Florida and Michigan, which also broke party rules by moving up its primary.

“I think everybody — and not just people from Florida or Michigan — I think the country would be very unhappy with the broader Democratic Party if they did not seat us and quote unquote disenfranchised voters,” said Bottcher, who works as a volunteer for several local organizations.

Republican Party leaders have also said they'll penalize Florida, seating only half of the state's delegates. In a primary race that's already decided, however, state GOP officials say they're confident that no penalty will ultimately be imposed.

“The chairman (of the state party) has discussed this issue with Sen. McCain, and the chairman remains confident all 114 (Republican delegates) will be seated,” said Katie Gordon, the state party's press secretary.

While Republicans are going about the business of a general election campaign — McCain just ran his first general election TV spot — Democrats say they're disappointed to see Obama and Clinton beating each other up in a prolonged primary process.

Jon Reiskind, chairman of the Democratic Party of Alachua County, said the sometimes-bitter battle between Clinton and Obama has been difficult to watch.

“It's very painful in the sense of watching two superb candidates who differ so little on basic values and issues, so most of their interaction is attacking each other in personal ways, which is very painful,” he said. “It's like watching your children fight.”

For loyal Republicans like Jones, however, watching the Democrats bloody each other up has been a hoot. “The longer Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama fight it out, and the nastier they get with each other, the happier we are,” he said.

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